On eve of SC hearing, Shaheen Bagh women fast, write postcards to CJI

NEW DELHI: Women holding a sit-in in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, since December 15 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, were on a fast on the eve of the Supreme Court hearing, apart from writing postcards to the Chief Justice of India on why CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) frightened them. They also met Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal after the administration requested them to withdraw the protest.
“Our demands were taken positively by the L-G. We have been allowing passage to school buses and ambulances, but our protests will continue till our demands are met,” said Safeena, one of the protesters.

The women wrote postcards in Hindi, English and Urdu, describing how statements on NRC made them fear the future of their children. “When former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s family could not prove its nationality, how will we common Muslims manage,” asked one of the 5,000 postcards addressed to CJI SA Bobde.

Another said: “My forefathers were part of the revolt against the British in 1857 in Chandanpur…there is no proof, but we know all the stories; will that count?” Another said: “When a law has ignited a sense of fear in so many people, there should be some way to bring changes.” One signed by a Class V student said: “I always top my class, my roll number is 26. But what is the use of studying if we cannot live here?”

On Tuesday afternoon, there were at least 70 women and mostly children at the site listening to speeches by locals on how ‘every move’ from Ayodhya to triple talaq had been discriminatory. But CAANRC was something that could threaten their existence. Assurances of the PM and ministers that CAA was not aimed against any Indian citizen, and there were no plans for NRC at the moment, has not helped. “Nobody from the government has expressed desire to engage with protesters. You don’t even want to listen to us, talk to us but want us to disbelieve what you have said again and again,” asked lecturer Ayesha Parveen.

The Delhi Police has appealed to protesters to unblock the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch. “They keep asking us when we would end the protest. We don’t know. We can even go to the Agra Expressway, where we would be noticed more. But what will happen to our households,” asked Salma Ahmed.

The protesters have sent a legal notice to BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya over a viral video which alleged the women were paid Rs 500 per day. The women have also decided only five of them will speak with the media. “Bring the people to us who claimed they are paying us money. We are not that desperate for money. It is dignity that we want,” said Abida who brought her 4-year-old daughter along.